Bobbitt faces domestic violence charges

Heather Rawlyk

Friday, Aug. 27, 2004 | 9:44 a.m.

John Wayne Bobbitt, who gained notoriety in 1993 when his then-wife cut off his penis while he slept, was arrested early Wednesday morning and charged with two counts of domestic violence after allegedly fighting with his 14-year-old stepson at their northwest Las Vegas home.

The teen called Metro Police about 1:15 a.m. and said that he and his mother, Joanna Bobbitt, were hit by John Bobbitt during a scuffle earlier that evening inside their home, the arrest report said.

The alleged fight sparked after the teen apparently found sex toys in the bedroom of his mother and stepfather and became angry, police said. According to the report, the three began physically fighting with each other and Joanna Bobbitt was somehow knocked down.

The teen left the house and called 911 from a cell phone, police said.

Soon after, John Bobbitt, 37, was arrested for two counts of battery and domestic violence and booked at the Las Vegas City Jail, where he remained Thursday afternoon, police said.

Las Vegas Municipal Court Administrator James Carmany said bail was originally set at $4,868 for each of the two counts, but was later raised to $10,132 per count by Chief Judge Toy R. Gregory Jr.

Bobbitt's lawyer, Barry Levinson, said Thursday his client is innocent and he will move to have the charges dismissed "as Bobbitt's actions were undertaken solely in an attempt to diffuse a violent situation."

Dave and Dawn Fletcher, who are friends of the Bobbitt family, were at the home and witnessed the entire fight, Levinson said. "They saw everything, and are going to testify," he said.

Dave Fletcher, a local air conditioner repairman and friend to John Bobbitt, said he was at the house that night and heard the boy call his mother names and become "really violent." He said the boy was punching Bobbitt with a closed fist.

Levinson said police treat Bobbitt worse than they treat the average citizen.

"He keeps on getting in trouble because he's infamous, but he's a good guy," Levinson said. "But he is treated differently. Like the bail being, what, almost doubled. The judge who did that is a fair judge, and I will go with whatever he thinks is fair, but he probably changed the bail when he saw it was John Bobbitt."

In the past 10 years, Bobbitt has been arrested several times with charges including domestic violence for allegedly beating up his then-fiance, a topless dancer at the Moonlight Bunny Ranch where he was a bartender, charges for which he was jailed twice; felony attempted grand larceny related to a clothing store robbery; and repeated probation violations.

As recently as May 2002, Bobbitt was arrested on a domestic battery charge and booked into Las Vegas City Jail for allegedly assaulting Joanna Bobbitt less than two months after they were married.

Bobbitt was supposed to have a hearing Wednesday afternoon, but it was postponed, Levinson said. He is now scheduled to have a video arraignment on Sept. 30, he said.